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Many people are not aware of all the skills they possess, especially if they are skills that they have developed themselves
over the years by participating in different activities, chores and hobbies (including housework and volunteering).
The Chapman Valley Community Skills Survey seeks to help identify the skills that our community currently possess and would like to learn, be
it in farming or any other field of work or personal pursuit.
If you are a farmer, there may be areas of training that you are interested in undertaking, if you are working in a different field you
may want to undertake a certain course or training to help you grow and expand your employment opportunities. Perhaps you are wanting to
undertake or provide training to help the local community group you belong to or are wanting to build your own personal skills in areas
such as leadership, digital technology, arts, etc. You may even be seeking additional work to help supplement your income.
By participating in the community skills survey you are helping to identify, and subsequently also helping to address, local education,
employment and training development needs.
Identifying resident's current skills and developing new skill sets will assist in developing flexibility within the Chapman Valley community.
If we take a look into the history of Chapman Valley [through the Shire of Chapman Valley Municipal Inventory 1995] we can see that flexibility
to adapt and respond to changing environments has played an important role in building and maintaining the community.
'In 1887 when the Land Regulations made fencing compulsory' it 'limited opportunities for expanding agriculture [which] forced many farmers
to pursue additional work such as mining and sandalwood cutting, while [it also lead to] many others [leaving] the area (1995 p.19).' When the
Narra Tarra mine shut down many miners chose to stay in the Valley and turned to agricultural pursuits. Many of the settlers to the Chapman Valley
area also 'undertook seasonal roadwork, this being referred to as 'cutting out the rates', therefore having a financial benefit to cover
expenses (1995, p.39).
During the 1890s 'labour in the ...district was scarce and dear... At Harvest time women and children were a common site in the
fields (1995 p.19).' Women continue to use their diverse skills to support the maintenance of their farms.
Around 1926 increased technology and the progression of agricultural science helped overcome many problems, such as the shortage of
ground water, low rainfall and soil erosion (1995 p.33, 36]) while 'continued diversification in crop cultivation resulted in very
successful ...[new crop] varieties [being] harvested regularly (1995 p.35).' And throughout local history community volunteering helped
build schools, local government, churches, monuments, and supported the growth and social development of the Chapman Valley community.
By participating in the survey you are helping provide a snapshot of local skills and skill gaps that exist within the Chapman
Valley community in 2008/2009.
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